The present invention is directed to a trailer which is especially useful in lifting and transporting pieces of equipment. The present invention is an improvement over a prior art trailer sold by bil-jax, Inc. of Archbold, Ohio including the Escalate Trailer Workforce.RTM. models ET 1500 and ET 2000. The prior art trailer is designed allow a piece of equipment to be transported from one place to another by being hitched to a vehicle. The prior art trailer has a bed which is lowered to the ground using a winch operation such that the bed does not tilt when being raised or lowered. When using the prior art trailer, a piece of equipment is positioned or moved onto the lowered bed. The bed is then raised by a winch into an elevated position so that the bed clears the ground. Operation of this prior art trailer included the raising or lowering by using a hand or automatic winch and cable which pulled the bed into a raised position. The prior art trailer required a great amount of power to raise the bed and the equipment thereon to the raised position. Accordingly, the person operating the trailer must exert extreme amount of effort to raise or lower the trailer.
The prior art trailer also was held in position by a standard type of toggle retaining latch to secure the bed to the frame once the bed was in the raised position. It is very important that the bed be very securely held in the raised position such that the equipment being hauled or transported is not damaged and that no injury occurs to the trailer operator. Such equipment often includes heavy and expensive equipment such as personnel lifts, trenchers, compactors, generators, appliances, tillers, welding equipment, lawn mowers, and the like. These pieces of equipment must be able to be securely held on the bed and not inadvertently become detached when the trailer is in use.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved trailer where a bed can be raised and lowered in a non-tilting manner and can be used to transport heavy pieces of equipment. The trailer of the present invention includes a lifting mechanism and a passive locking mechanism which provide the operator with a great mechanical advantage thus reducing the amount of force required to raise and lower the bed.
In addition, the lifting mechanism and the locking mechanism together provide a trailer system having safety and energy conserving features.